Maryland football’s season opener against Florida Atlantic went just about as well as head coach Michael Locksley could have hoped. The Terps, though a bit slow to start, poured on 26 second-quarter points and never looked back, shellacking the Owls, 39-7.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s action.
Washington introduced himself in grand fashion
The premier storyline heading into the noon kickoff centered around freshman quarterback Malik Washington winning the starting job over redshirt junior Justyn Martin and redshirt freshman Khristian
Martin.
Washington was a bit shaky to start — he went just 3-of-9 for 19 yards in the opening quarter. But a number of those incomplete passes came as a result of drops from the likes of tight end Leon Haughton Jr. and wide receivers Shaleak Knotts and Jalil Farooq.
On a few occasions, Washington was flushed out of the pocket and failed to set his feet before throwing, which sent passes awry. He was also tasked with executing numerous down-and-distance throws, which forced him to try and fit in some balls in tight windows.
But once Washington tossed the first touchdown pass of his young college career in the second quarter — a 29-yard strike to Knotts — it was smooth sailing. Washington swiftly followed his first score up with two more by halftime, and both were equally impressive throws: another 29-yard dart, this one to Tennessee transfer Kaleb Webb, and a 9-yard touchdown pass to Georgia State transfer Dorian Fleming.
What was perhaps most impressive about Washington’s debut was not his passing total, though he did finish with 258 yards through the air. His ability to work quickly through progressions was remarkable, and seldom did his footwork feel rushed.
“We felt Malik gave us the best chance [to win],” Locksley said. “And it’s a calmness about him, the demeanor that you see. He’s a little older than his years, maybe the way he’s handled this thing, and the best part about it, he’s only gonna get better.”
Bottom line: Maryland fans should feel excited about the young signal caller’s potential ceiling after his debut.
Despite early flags, Maryland’s defense showed promise
Maryland’s defense wasn’t pretty to start. It committed five penalties on FAU’s opening drive, three of which were offside calls. One of the offside flags nullified a Daniel Wingate interception that could have given the Terps some early momentum.
Ultimately, FAU munched just over four minutes of clock on its journey down to Maryland’s 4-yard line. But the Terps held strong, with Wingate stifling Owls quarterback Caden Veltkamp just shy of the end zone. The play resulted in a turnover on downs, and served as the start of Maryland’s strong afternoon on defense.
The Terps could have had a total of eight interceptions on the day, but two were taken back due to penalties. Daniel Wingate corralled a pick-six that opened the Terps’ scoring, and Dontay Joyner intercepted Veltkamp early in the second quarter to give Maryland a chance to extend its lead with solid field position.
Lavain Scruggs, La’khi Roland, Braydon Lee and Ricardo Cooper Jr. also secured picks — Maryland’s first six-interception game since 1998.
The defense held FAU head coach Zach Kittley’s air raid offense to just 142 first-half passing yards. And it wasn’t just due to its superior secondary play, either. Maryland’s front seven, featuring highly-touted freshmen Sidney Stewart and Zahir Mathis, wreaked havoc consistently.
In the first quarter, Mathis hit Veltkamp off the snap, resulting in the errant throw that Wingate returned for a touchdown. Meanwhile, Stewart’s sneaky rush up the middle caught Veltkamp off guard and resulted in a safety, Maryland’s first since 2019.
“It felt amazing,” Stewart said. “I didn’t even know what to do. I was like, I don’t know if I should do the bull celly, the safety celly, so I just ended up doing both.”
Offensive skill players shared the wealth
Seven different Terps had at least one rush Saturday, while 10 caught at least one pass.
“I think it’s a byproduct of the way we’ve recruited. We brought in some talented players,” Locksley said. “The key to us is the more diverse we are on offense, the harder it is to defend and take people out of the game.”
With a freshman quarterback starting, one might think the run game would be a point of emphasis. But the Terps’ running backs ran for just 112 yards on the afternoon, and it was DeJuan Williams who impressed most, not presumptive RB1 Nolan Ray.
Williams broke off Maryland’s first chunk play of the game with a nifty 15-yard rush, evading multiple defenders along the way. Later in the first quarter, he fought for a 17-yard gain to move the sticks. Ray rushed for 25 yards on eight carries.
As for the wide receivers, offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton elected largely to field the trio of Jalil Farooq, Octavian Smith Jr. and Knotts. Farooq saw plenty of time in the slot, and snagged a couple of quick underneath passes from Washington. Smith had some solid yards-after-catch plays, while Knotts led all receivers with 59 yards.
But redshirt sophomore Ryan Manning, as well as Webb, were filtered into the receiver rotation frequently. While he finished with just one catch for four yards, Manning has speed and shiftiness that could be utilized more over the course of the season.
Fleming was as advertised Saturday, consistently providing a safety valve for Washington and leading Maryland with six receptions. Haughton caught one pass as the backup.
